Safety scaffold with electromagnets

ABSTRACT

A safety scaffold with electromagnets for holding the scaffold securely to the building under construction.

3,837,428 Sept. 24, 1974 3,375,900 4/1968 Conley...............,...............182/142 SAFETY SCAFFOLD WITH ELECTROMAGNETS [76] Inventor:Leonard W. Gish, Rt. 1, Mountain FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS Iron,Minn. 55768 June 27, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 374,254

745,837 3/1956 Great Britain............ 182/107 [22] Filed:

Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado ABSTRACT A safety scaffold withelectromagnets for holding the scaffold securely to the building underconstruction.

[52] US. 182/129, 182/142 [51] Int. Cl. E04g 3/10, E04g 5/04 [58] Fieldof Search........... 182/142, 129, 143, 144,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures2,600,199 Brewster 182/142 PAIENIEDSEPZMSM sum 10$ 1 SAFETY SCAFFOLDWITH ELECTROMAGNETS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention is ascaffold, sometimes called a skif, used in constructing buildings havinga metal or iron structure. The scaffold is of the type having asuspended platform.

In the prior art scaffolds of this type are prevented from swinging in ahorizontal plane by merely tying the platform to the building structure.Sometimes this is overlooked, creating a dangerous situation. Forexample, if the scaffold is not secured to the side of the building itcan swing out under the influence of the reactive forces that arepresent when a person steps from the scaffold to the building. In thisinvention the scaffold incorporates electromagnets for holding thescaffold to the building, which are very convenient to energize.

SUMMARY The invention is a scaffold for use on the sides of buildingsformed of metal structural members. The scaffold includes a platformwhich incorporates electromagnets for holding the platform to thestructural members. The electromagnets are mounted on an axis and canmove sideways along the axis and can rotate about the axis so that theelectromagnets can be positioned to accommodate various structuralconfigurations. The scaffold is elevated and lowered by means of twoelectric winches. The winch cables run through guides mounted in theguard rails in the barriers at the ends of the platform. A barrier isalso mounted on the back of the platform. The front of the platform isopen to allow work on the building under construction. The toe-board onthe front edge of the platform is removable for unobstructed access tothe platform.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial drawing of thescaffold;

FIG. 2 shows the scaffold in use against the side of a building underconstruction; and

FIG. 3 is a pictorial drawing showing the construction of the floor ofthe scaffold platform.

FIG. 4 is a pictorial drawing showing the construction of the cableguide 70.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, thescaffold includes a platform 10 having a front side 12, a back side 14,and two end sides 16 and 18. Electromagnets 20 and 22 are mounted on abar 24 which is welded or otherwise securely fastened to the front sideof platform 10. Magnets 20 and 22 can move to the left and right alongbar 24 and can be rotated about the axis of the bar. Locking mechanisms26 and 28 associated with magnets 20 and 22 permit locking the magnetsinto the positions selected. Electrical power for magnet 20 is suppliedthrough a circuit including cable 30, on-off switch 34, cable 38, fusebox 42, and power cable 44. Electrical power for magnet 22 is suppliedthrough a circuit including cable 32, on-off switch 36, cable 40, fusebox 42, and power cable 44. On-off switches 34 and 36 control theelectrical power to magnets 20 and 22. Also included in these twocircuits are two-way plugs and 37 which may be used for power tools. Abarrier 46 is attached to the back side of platform 10 and barriers 48and 50 are attached to the end sides. The barriers include hand rails52, 54, and 56 and include various supporting and bracing members.Electric power winches 58 and 60 are mounted in barriers 48 and 50 atthe ends of the platform. The winches include cables 62 and 64 the topsof which are fastened to the building. Electrical power to winch 58 issupplied by a circuit including cable 66, fuse box 42 and power cable44. The electrical power to winch 60 is supplied by a circuit includingcable 68, fuse box 42, and power cable 44. Winches 58 and 60 areoperated by means of levers S9 and 61. The winch cables 62 and 64 runthrough cable guides and 72 located in guard rails 54 and 56.

The scaffold is shown in place on the side of a building in FIG. 2. Thebuilding includes structural steel columns and girders 102. The columns100 are given lateral support by sway braces 106 and 108 connectedtherebetween. A horizontal sheeting girt 110 is connected betweencolumns 100. Tie rods 112 connected between the girders and adjacentsheeting girts provide support for the sheeting girts. The scaffold ispositioned such that electromagnet 22 is holding on to sway brace 108 atthe right side and column 100 at the left side. Magnets 20 and 22 can beadjusted to accommodate various structural configurations. For example,as the platform is moved up and down, magnet 22 can be adjusted alongbar 24 so that it will be adjacent brace 108 or some other member. Thus,it is very easy to secure the platform as it is moved up and down theside of the building.

FIG. 3 shows the construction of the frame of the platform and the floorthereof. The frame is constructed of aluminum l-beams 150. The floor 152is welded or otherwise securely fastened to the frame. Floor 152 has arough frictional surface and may be made of 20 gauge aluminum.Toe-boards 154 are mounted around the edges of the platform. Thetoeboard located at the front edge of the platform is held by supportmembers 156 welded to the frame and is removable. The removabletoe-board allows easy access onto and off the scaffold. The cable guideused is shown in FIG. 4. Each guide includes two right angle clips 200and 202 mounted on the top sides of the guard rails associated with thebarriers at the end sides of the platform. The mounting means includes aset of bolts 204 and a steel strap 206 on the underside of the guardrail. Rollers 208 and 210 are mounted between the upward projections onclips 200 and 204 by means of two pins 212 and 214. The winch cablepasses between rollers 212 and 214, through an opening in the guard railand through a hole in strap 206. Mounting the cable guide in the guardrails saves space on the platform. Rollers 208 and 210 are shown mountedtransversely on hand rail 54, obviously they can also be mountedlongitudinally.

In summary, a safe, convenient scaffold has been described. The scaffoldcan be readily secured to the metal structure of a building, especiallya building under construction. The cable guides'are positioned to be outof the way.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been described.Modifications of this embodiment and equivalent embodiments within thespirit and scope of this invention will occur to those skilled in theart. The invention is to be limited only by the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A scaffold movable vertically along the sides of buildings formed ofdiscrete metal structural members, comprising:

a. a platform having a front, a back, and two sides;

b. at least one electromagnet for holding said platform in a selectedposition adjacent the structural members;

0. means for movably mounting the electromagnet to the front of theplatform so as to be movable laterally along and rotatable about axeswhich are generally parallel to the platform front side, therebyallowing said electromagnet to be positioned against any discretestructural member located near the front side of said platform;

d. means for electrically connecting the electromagnet to a source ofelectrical energy;

e. barriers attached to the platform at the back and sides, the barriersincluding hand rails and supporting and bracing structure;

f. winches, including cables, mounted on the barriers for elevating andlowering the platform;

g. means for connecting the winches to a source of electrical energy;and

h. means for locking said electromagnet in place in the positionselected on said mounting means.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 in which there are twoelectromagnets.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 2 in which the winches are mountedon the side barriers, and further including guides for the winch cables,the guides mounted in the hand rails of the side barriers.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 in which the electromagnetmounting means includes a bar mounted on the front side of the scaffoldplatform, and generally parallel thereto, the electromagnet mounted onthe bar for longitudinal movement along the bar and rotational movementabout the bar.

1. A scaffold movable vertically along the sides of buildings formed ofdiscrete metal structural members, comprising: a. a platform having afront, a back, and two sides; b. at least one electromagnet for holdingsaid platform in a selected position adjacent the structural members; c.means for movably mounting the electromagnet to the front of theplatform so as to be movable laterally along and rotatable about axeswhich are generally parallel to the platform front side, therebyallowing said electromagnet to be positioned against any discretestructural member located near the front side of said platform; d. meansfor electrically connecting the electromagnet to a source of electricalenergy; e. barriers attached to the platform at the back and sides, thebarriers including hand rails and supporting and bracing structure; f.winches, including cables, mounted on the barriers for elevating andlowering the platform; g. means for connecting the winches to a sourceof electrical energY; and h. means for locking said electromagnet inplace in the position selected on said mounting means.
 2. The apparatusas recited in claim 1 in which there are two electromagnets.
 3. Theapparatus as recited in claim 2 in which the winches are mounted on theside barriers, and further including guides for the winch cables, theguides mounted in the hand rails of the side barriers.
 4. The apparatusas recited in claim 1 in which the electromagnet mounting means includesa bar mounted on the front side of the scaffold platform, and generallyparallel thereto, the electromagnet mounted on the bar for longitudinalmovement along the bar and rotational movement about the bar.